Los Angeles Ranks Among America's Dumbest Cities

We like fake-bake tanning, pet yoga and the Real Housewives of anywhere. But come on -- is L.A. really that dumb? And getting stupider? (Yeah, anybody who uses "stupider" in a sentence must be from here, right?).

The latest "Smartest Cities" in America list by the Daily Beast (via LA Biz Observed) has our fair city ranked 31st, a four-place drop from last year. The list looks at the number of degree-holders, book sales figures, the number of (partially closed) libraries and other data.

But we rank in the dumb half of American cities? Seriously?

L.A. has arguably the largest book fair in the nation (the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books), universities (Caltech, UCLA, USC, and the president's alma mater matter, Occidental) that battle with the best of them, and, because of Hollywood, more "writers" than a graffiti convention.

And yet we still rank behind Charlotte, North Carolina, the queen city? Let us tell you something about how retarded number 26 Charlotte is: Residents call their downtown "uptown" because downtown is too downer of a name. Ya dig?

We're insulted. At least we beat last-place finisher Las Vegas (number 55), although that city is populated by Angelenos every weekend.

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